The hybrid rotor, the set and the fixed angle container according to the present invention are configured for use in a centrifuge, particularly a laboratory centrifuge. Laboratory centrifuges are used for various applications in the biochemical, chemical, biological and medical fields, such as, for example, the separation of mixtures. To that end, a sample vessel containing the mixture to be separated is placed in a centrifuge container. In some cases, the sample vessel is accommodated in an adapter in advance. The centrifuge container is fixed to a rotor, which is in turn mounted on a drive head of a drive shaft of a centrifuge drive. The rotor of the centrifuge is rotated about a rotation axis by means of the drive, during which process the centrifugal forces acting on the samples cause the separation of the mixture. Laboratory centrifuges are different from industrially used centrifuges, for example, in that they often times operate with small sample volumes, and the samples may be very sensitive and valuable, requiring very precise devices which separate the samples most accurately without having a negative impact on the sample quality.
The present invention therefore primarily and preferably relates to laboratory centrifuges separating sample volumes up to 50 ml maximum, for example, up to 15 ml, at a capacity of up to 16 samples, in most cases up to 8 samples, at a time per run, and a centrifugal acceleration of 6,000 g maximum, for example, up to 4,000 times the gravitational acceleration (g).
It is known to mount the centrifuge containers together with the sample vessels in a suspended manner in the rotor such that said containers will swing outward into a horizontal position during the centrifuge run due to the centrifugal force. This type of sample container will hereinafter be referred to as “swinging container”. Besides said swinging containers, centrifuge containers are known which are arranged in the rotor at a fixed angle relative to the rotation axis, which angle will not change during the centrifuge run. Such sample containers will subsequently be referred to as “fixed angle containers”.
Since the swinging containers, respectively the fixed angle containers, each require different mounting in the rotor, two different types of rotors are conventionally used for the two applications. One example of a rotor configured for use with swinging containers is known from DE 10 2011 050 836 A1, a rotor for fixed angle containers is known from DE 10 2004 062 231 A1. Typically, in a centrifuge, either a rotor configured for use with swinging containers or a rotor configured for use with fixed angle containers may be fixed to the drive head depending on the application. Depending on the type of application currently required, the centrifuge needs to be re-equipped and the rotor has to be exchanged. This causes a time loss and costs. Moreover, often times the rotors have a complex structure and are expensive in manufacture. Due to strict safety regulations to be observed with respect to the rotors, they are also comparatively heavy, increasing the required rotational energy and the operating cost of the centrifuge.